War of Shadows
by sconesRtasty
Summary: It's been 7 months since the Battle of Nightmares, and North's called the Guardians together again. There's a old enemy stirring, even older than Pitch. They've beaten them before, but they had some help. Now, they are going to need that same ally to fight the same opponent. But is this 'ally' who she says she is? This is my first fanfic, the first chapters bad, but keep reading!
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks for the idea, Ana! I am officially giving you credit. And i hate this chapter, but just keep reading, PLEASE! it gets better, i promise!**

**Disclaimer; I do not own Rise of the Guardians**

"So that's what Santa Claus is like." Jack said.

"Wow. I mean, I've met him before, but I had no idea he was that awesome!" Jamie said excitedly. "What about the Tooth Fairy? What's she like?"

"Well, she's really nice and sweet, but belive me, you do _not_ want to get on her bad side!" Jack started as he and Jamie walked along the faint trail that led through the forest off of the side of Burgess, Jamie's hometown. Jack had been vistiting ever since the Battle of Nightmare seven months ago. "You should have seen her when she got mad at Pitch for steeling all the teeth and her fairies. The look on her face..." He trailed off as he looked up, surprised

"What is it?" Jamie asked, following his gaze. Up in the sky, blue and green lights mingled with indigo and purple in a floating dance. They stretched across the wide expanse in two directions; north and south. For some reason, the northern side seemed to glow slightly brighter than the south. Jamie looked at them in awe.

"Hey, uh, Jamie," Jack said, still slightly confused. "I'll see ya tomorrow, alright? I...I gotta go..."

"Uh, okay." answered Jamie. "But what's with-" He was cut short as Jack took off with a gust of wind, a trail of white snowflakes behind him. "-the lights." Jamie finished with a sigh.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Jack flew over the town that he considered home, his eyes still on the Northern Lights overhead. After the Battle, the Guardians had him stay with them for a while things "calmed down". Honestly, Jack thought they let him leave because they just got sick of him being around. After that, he just went back to something of a happier version of his old life. With Jamie and his friends knowing he was there, things got a lot less lonely. He still traveled around the world, always having a snowstorm right behind him, but he always came back to this valley. It just felt familiar, which made sense, as only people there knew he even existed. But now he had to leave it behind for the time being. All the Guardians were needed at the North Pole, including him. Why, he had no idea.

Slowly but surely, the weather began to grow colder as Jack flew. It didn't bother him, of course. It didn't matter were he was; he was always comfortably cold. The Northern Lights glowed their brightest here. Soon, Jack was flying over the large icy wasteland of the North Pole. And as he looked around, he noticed other ribbons of light on all other side of him. As he flew on, they all met at one place; Santa's Northern Workshop.

Jack looked down at the white expanse beneath him. Right below him, he could just make out the outline of his friend/enemy, the Easter Bunny. "Oh, great" mumbled Jack. "It must be pretty serious if their going to put up with us arguing through out the conversation."

Jack entered over the large domed roof of Santa's Workshop via open skylight. Below him, probably the world's biggest globe rotated, covered in twinkling lights representing all the current believing children. Jack had a minor flash-back of when all those lights were going out at least ten per second. Back when they were losing the war. But ever since Jamie's revelation, the lights had been coming back on, more and more every day.

Jack shook his head. That had been a long time ago. He had to focus on the present. Like, why had North called _all _of them here. It had to be something important, otherwise why go through all the trouble?

He landed gently on the floor of the indoor balcony, next to the Sandman. Sandy turned and looked at him before breaking into a smile and giving him a little wave. "Hey, Sandy! How ya been?" Jack asked cheerfully. Sandman just shrugged in an 'alright' movement before flashing a little sand question mark. "No, I was hopping you would know why we're here. I have no idea myself." Jack answered to his symbol. Just then the Tooth Fairy gave a small squeal at Jack before flying over and wrapping him in a large hug. Her little cloud of ever-constant fairies trailed behind her, twittering excitedly.

"Jack, I'm so glad your here!" she said, letting go of him. "I wasn't sure if you would come. Hey, do you know what's going on? I just got here myself, and Sandy doesn't seem to know, either. We're still waiting for Bunnymund, but I doubt he'll know, either." She spoke in rapid-fire sentences, her word sharp and quick. Obvious symptoms of her nervousness. Jack chuckled. "Calm down, Tooth. I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle, right, Bunny?" "What?" asked a newly-arrived and started Easter Bunny, annoyed that he had to be pulled away from his precious egg paintings. Jack laughed again. "What are you so worked up about with those eggs? It's the beginning of November, why so stressed?"

"Because after last years failure, I've got to make sure this year is perfect, with all my best paintings on the best eggs you've ever seen. So stop distracting me!" he said defensively. "Yeah, I missed you too, considering I haven't seen ya for a good six months." Jack said with a roll of his eyes. "Boys, boys!" Tooth said, trying to break up the fighting. Her sudden exclamation caused Bunnymund to make a jagged blue streak along his egg. "Aw, now look at what you made me do! I only got so many of these things!" "Hey, don't take your bad mood out on her, you sour puss." Jack defended Tooth. "Oh, you want to see a sour puss, mate?" Bunny said, getting right up in Jack's face. "I'll give you a bloody sour puss!"

Just before things were about to get ugly, Tooth let out a timid "North? You okay?". This simple question was enough to pull Jack and Bunnymund out of their feud and look over to the corner where North had stayed silent and thinking the entire episode. "We have another threat facing us." he said grimly in his thick Russian accent. "Who, Pitch?" asked Jack in disbelief. "I thought we already took care of him." This was half statement and half question. Jack only had a faint idea of what Pitch was capable of, as he was still new to the whole 'guardian' thing. "No, he couldn't be back, not after what we did to him. It's practically impossible!" Tooth said surely. "No, it is not Pitch Black we are facing this time, but Nightshade." North announced. There was a collective gasp from everyone. That is, everyone but Jack. "What, Nightshade? Isn't that some kind of poison berry or something?" He asked in an _are you kidding me?_ type tone. Bunnymund snorted. "Or something." he mumbled. "Nightshade is Pitch's sister spirit." Tooth explained, shooting Bunnymund a glare. "She was based off of something very similar to Pitch, if not the same thing. Only much older and powerful." "Oh. So, defiantly not a berry?" he asked. Tooth gave a small smile. "Defiantly not a berry." she confirmed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on a second." Bunnymund said, joining in on the conversation. "Why is she suddenly back? We haven't seen her since the 1500's after she made that attempt to extend that solar eclipse." "Why do that?" Jack asked. "One, big shadow over the entire world. Would have been paradise for her." "Well, she obviously failed, so what's the big deal?" Jack said, looking out a giant window at the bright, sunny day. "Well, the thing is, she almost got away with it." said Tooth, almost embarrassed. "But she didn't." Bunny said harshly. "Only because we had help." North said, walking out from the shadows. "Oh, what, is there a secret guardian I don't know about?" Jack said sarcastically. "Who is it? Uncle Sam? The Leprechaun?" "Cupid." said North simply. Jack had a rare moment of shocked silence.

"You know I was kidding, right?" Asked a dazed Jack. "Wait, wait, I thought we agreed that Heart, regardless of her help, was never appointed by the Man in the Moon, so, therefor, never became a guardian. Not to mention we haven't heard of her since then. What if she's changed?" opposed Tooth, suddenly defensive. Of what, Jack had no clue. "Funny, you didn't say that when we decided to bring Jack in." Bunny said slyly. "Well... that was different." she said, still on her guard. Jack looked at Bunnymund and spotted him rolling his eyes.

"Aw, first you didn't invite me to the party, then you tell stories about me behind my back?" A voice hidden in the tall walls filled with shelf after shelf called. "Ugh, rude!" Out of habit, Jack pointed his staff at the wall in a movement of self defense. There was a flash of bright red and white made Jack turn wildly to the right. He backed up until he was standing next to Bunnymund. Then, seemingly from no where, a white feather with what looked like a turquoise tinge to it floated down from the high ceiling and landed between Jack and Bunny. "What..." escaped Jack's mouth just before a sudden "Boo!" made him whip around just in time to see Bunnymund jump a good five feet in the air, as the owner of the scare had been right behind him. "Oi, Cupid, don't scare me like that!" he said, a hand over his heart. The girl behind him laughed before giving him a slap on his shoulder and saying, "It's nice to see you, too!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally get to introduce my OC! Hope you like her!**

Jack looked at the new person he assumed had to be Cupid. She was in a bright red short-sleeve blouse and cream-colored shorts that reached just below her knees. She wore red ballet flats, with a small braided red, white, and black anklet on her left ankle. She was the same height as Jack with tanned skin and a hair color he couldn't decide on; light brown or dark blond, it was hard to tell. It cascaded down her back to just above her waist. She had high cheek bones and gold eyes that were full of laughter and smiles, exaggerated with two blond eyebrows that looked like twin slashes on her forehead. Strapped to her back was a quiver of arrows with red feathers on the ends and ivory heads. A black necklace made of a shiny substance that looked like obsidian with a heart resting in the middle and a silver charm bracelet covered in metal bows, arrows, and hearts on her wrist. And on her left hand, a cherry wood ring with a small flame carved on the top around her middle finger. And though Jack saw arrows, he didn't see a bow on her anywhere.

Cupid turned just in time to catch Jack staring at her. She gave a smile that was slightly lopsided before saying, "Like what you see?". Jack felt his cheeks turn a bright pink as he looked the suddenly interesting floor. "Well, I'm impressed!" Bunnymund said, smiling at Jacks embarrassment. "I've never seen him turn that color in three hundred years and you did it in ten seconds!" He seemed to find this extremely funny and Jack thought he was laughing a little too hard. Okay, make it way to hard.

Cupid smiled again and stuck out her hand towards Jack. "The name's Cupid, but most people call me Heart." She shrugged. "It might sound cheesy, but someone came up with it and just kinda stuck." Jack took her hand and shook it. "Jack Frost." he said. She tilted her head at him before saying, "Newbie?" "Yeah, how'd you know?" Jack asked. Heart just shrugged again. "Just haven't seen you around before, that's all." she answered simply.

She looked over to her right before a huge grin came across her face. "North! How's it been going, Gramps?!" she said, letting go of Jack's hand and rapping North in a hug. North couldn't help but let out a bellowing laugh and saying, "I missed you too, Cupid!" he said, exaggerating the two syllables in "Cupid" so it sounded almost like, "Cue-pid". She smiled up at him before patting his belly. "Still on your normal diet of cookies and fruitcake, I see." She said cheerfully. "Eh, what can I say?" he said with a shrug.

She turned right to look to the bustling workshop below, turning her back to Jack. This movement sent something large and white rushing towards him. He jumped back with a "Whoa!", narrowly missing to mass of feathers and catching Heart's attention. "What?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. Jack looked open-mouthed at the twin angle wings jutting out from her shoulder blades, so large they curved up to the top of her head to her bare ankles, white with the same turquoise tinge as the feather he spotted floating down from the ceiling. His mouth still open, he pointed to the wings, then to Heart and back again. When she gave him a blank look, he closed his mouth and drew back his finger, before saying, "Nothing." in an _everything's fine but not really _type voice that almost squeaked.

Heart gave him a weird look before turning to the others again and crying, "Sandy, my man!". She walked over to him, giving him knuckles that Sandy made look so natural it had to be something they did regularly. "How's the dream business going for you?" He gave her a thumbs-up and flashed a little sand smiley face over his head. "Hey, I heard the Leprechaun was having some trouble with a group of wild horses eating his clover fields. How's that been effecting him?" she asked. The Sandman began flashing little sand symbols in a blur of gold with the help of some hand motions. Jack couldn't keep up, though he did spot some four leave clovers and little Irish top hats. Heart just nodded with the occasional "Really?" and "Um-hum". When he finished, she said, "Well, good for him. Next time you see him give him my best wishes."

Sandy nodded just as Tooth crossed her arms and said, "Oh, stop showing off how fast you can keep up with Sandy." she said with a roll of her eyes and a "No offence, Sandy." He just held his hands up and shook his head. "Well, if it isn't the Tooth Fairy herself." said Heart. "Long time, no see!" "Yeah, and I liked it better that way." mumbled Tooth.

Jack leaned over to Bunnymund and whispered, "Whoa, what happened? I've never seen Tooth so harsh!" "Yeah, she and Heart haven't ever really gotten along. She won't admit it, but I think Tooth is mad at Heart for something." Bunnymund answered. "You mean like you and me with the Easter Sunday thing forever ago?" Jack asked. Bunny glared at him. "Yeah,_something_ like that." he said bitterly before adding, "My guess is it was the first date where someone lost a permanent tooth after a 'romantic' rollerblading incident. Heart's argument is that their auras didn't match and she had to stop it. I don't think Tooth has ever really forgiven her for it." "Um, okay." Jack said. Didn't seem like that big of a deal to him, but then again, neither did Easter Sunday.

"So, why do you need me again?" Everyone looked at Heart. "What?! I wasn't here for the first part of North's speech!" Heart said defensively. "Nightshade's back." Bunny said simply. "Aw, again?!" Heart groaned. "I thought we took care of her back in 1574?" "Yeah, we did. But that was 1574 and this is 2012. She's had plenty of time to recover." Tooth snapped. "In fact, I'm surprised she hasn't tried anything like this before now." "Well, apparently she's trying something now." said Heart. "Speaking of which, what's she 'trying', exactly?" she asked. "Well, after Pitch's attempt in April, Shade saw how well her brother did and I guess she, thinking herself smarter and more powerful to Pitch, adopted his idea and is planning something similar to what he did." North said.

"Wait, how did you come across information to create this theory?" Bunny asked. "It was...uh...another shadow." North finally admitted. Bunny looked at him. "Your kidding?" he said. "Is this another dramatic Pitch intro?!" "No, no!" North said defensively. "This was a different kind of shadow! This one was a shadow of a bird, a falcon, made of a purple darkness, so dark, it was only a shade way from being black!" North said dramatically. "So I got pulled away from my eggs for this?" Bunny asked, annoyed. "You forget, old friend, of what happened last time I saw something like this! And I can feel it...in my belly!" North pointed out, exaggerating his comment with a slap of his stomach. Bunny rolled his eyes, admitting defeat with a sigh. "Fine, how do we start?" Bunny asked reluctantly.

"Wait, I never said I would help you guys!" Heart suddenly outburst. Everyone gave her a look. "What, you automatically think I'll help you? You never even asked!" she said, crossing her arms defensively. Tooth groaned and rolled her eyes. North sighed. "Heart, will you help us?" Bunnymund finally said. Heart looked at him. He sighed. "...Please?" he added. Heart observed them, starting with Bunnymund, then Sandy, North, Tooth, and finally Jack before shrugging and saying, "Yeah, okay." in a very lay back manner. "Wait, that's it?" Tooth asked in astonishment/annoyance. "No deals, no time to think about it so you can leave us in suspense, just 'yeah, okay'?" she said. "Yep." said Heart, looking pretty smug. Jack heard a snort and looked behind him at a Bunnymund trying _very _hard not to laugh at the scene unfolding before him. Jack also found himself smiling at the sight of Heart and Tooth practically at each other's throats. Bunny was able to pull himself together enough to say, "Okay, girls, let's get back to business. North, where do we start looking?" Just then, one of North's yetis ran in shouting loudly in Russian that just sounded like a series of grunts to Jack. North turned away from the yeti and smiled at Bunnymund. "How about the Cloud Castle?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Next chapter, all done! Hope you like my plot!**

"Cloud Castle? What's that?" Jack asked as the group rode down the elevator, Sandy excluded. He had rushed out of the place after North gave the news. "It just happens that it's Sandy's home base." Heart said expertly. "Okay, so what's happening there?" Jack continued to ask. "My guess, same thing as last time." Tooth said as they stepped off the elevator. "Probably after the dreams. She couldn't go after the teeth like Pitch did, even she knows the entire Palace is on our best guard after last time's fiasco." "Why go after dreams?" Jack asked. "Is it the same thing as the teeth?" "Uh...more or less." Tooth said.

"Dreams are kids' drive." Heart interjected. "It's what they work towards. Without them, they feel like their life just goes _phbt_." She said, sticking her tongue out and giving thumbs down. "Oh." Jack said. "Then I suppose we're taking the sleigh again?" North smiled. "Eh, everyone loves the sleigh!" he said. Jack rolled his eyes at the familiar comment. Bunnymund groaned behind him.

By the time they had made it to the sleigh's holding dock, the elfs and yetis (mostly the yetis) had pulled out the sleigh and harnessed the reindeer to the front. They all piled in the front, Jack freezing an elf as he glided in over the side. Heart, who had been walking behind Jack, gave him one of those _you're so immature _looks and thawed the short man out with tap of her red flat. The ice came off him in a sheet of water and the poor elf walked in a dazed circle, his nervous system short circuiting from the drastic temperature changes.

Once everyone was in, the sleigh took off through the icy tunnels, sending a flurry of ice shavings in its wake. In the back seat, Bunnymund's groans could be heard by everyone. "Oy, I forgot what a terrible driver North is." He said regrettably. Tooth just smiled at his discomfort. Jack, as always, was standing up front, trying to gain the most excitement out of the ride. Behind him, he could hear excited cries of "Faster, Gramps! Faster!" mixed with exhilarated laughs at the sheer speed coming from Heart.

The tunnel began to end and Jack could see sunlight at the end before being blinded momentarily by the midday sun as they burst outside. The reindeer took off and next thing Jack knew, they were flying across the blue sky freckled with white clouds. As they sped past cotton-ball fluffs, Jack turned around towards Heart. She caught his gazed, smiled at him and gestured with her eyes to the edge of the sleigh. Realizing what she meant, Jack smiled back and nodded. She gave him one last look before running to the side across from her and leaping off. A moment later, she came up next to the sleigh, laughing with her wings outstretched. She twisted into a corkscrew dive just as Jack leaped off to follow her. Heart snapped her wings open and pulled up from her steep decent, doing a precise backflip and shooting back towards the sleigh.

Jack suddenly flew in front of her, causing Heart to come to a clumsy forced stop. "Hey!" she yelled at him as he glided away, laughing at her stricken expression. She glared playfully at him before going for the bait and taking off after him. Surprised at her unsuspected speed, Jack had to quickly turn around and fly towards the sleigh again in a not-so-graceful manner. Heart laughed before giving chase at Jack. They flew in circles under, above, and around the red sleigh as a sliver sphere was tossed from the front. It suddenly exploded in a flurry of glass and a blue and green funnel-shaped portal appeared in its place. The sleigh, followed by Jack and Heart, was sucked into the snow globe/portal before it disappeared, leaving the icy wasteland as silent as they had left it.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A few seconds later, an identical portal appeared in the skies above the African plains. Out flew the reindeer, followed by the sleigh, which Heart and Jack had settled into during the short trip. The slight after-feeling of vertigo was not helping Bunnymund's condition. As they flew on, a large medieval-like castle made entirely of gold sand cast a shadow over the group. North suddenly veered sharply to the right, narrowly missing a gold light followed by a dark purple streak. The suddenness caused everyone to tear their eyes away from the impressive building in front of them to the surrounding area. What they saw shocked even Heart speechless.

Before them, little gold lights twinkled as they flew frantically around, leaving little gold-dust trails that quickly faded in their wake. Behind each one, an unnaturally large dark purple falcon chased them in hot pursuit, screeching loudly. Only these birds were nothing like the Nightmares Pitch's army had consisted of. These weren't even real, detailed falcons, but only purple silhouettes, almost like... "Shadows." Jack whispered in realization. "Oh, I missed these guys." Heart said grimly. "Not." "Well, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you to, but right now their after the dreams!" Tooth said, her wings buzzing to life. "So let's settle some old scores." "Way ahead of ya, mate." Bunnymund said, happy for an excuse to get off of the crazy sleigh. Pulling out his boomerangs, he jumped off the edge, landing on to the back of one of the oversized falcons.

"Well, better not let him have all the fun." Jack said and flew off, Heart seemingly having the same idea. He flew swiftly opposite the direction of most of the shadows. Each one he pasted, he froze as best he could, some falling to the ground, others breaking through it and continuing to chase after their prey. Some others noticed how Jack could prove a threat and a group of six ambushed him.

Whirling around towards the diving Shadows, Jack raced to meet them, freezing two more on his way up. As the enemies sped towards each other, the falcons broke into two trios, three swerving to the right of Jack and the others continuing their decent. Jack swung his staff at the incoming birds, missing the majority of them but hitting one's wing, sending it screeching to the ground far below. The other two split apart, flying to the opposite sides of Jack, flying at him from two different directions. using a trick he learned during the Battle of Nightmares, Jack waited until the last-minute before suddenly dropping down like a stone. The unsuspecting Shadows slammed into each other with a ear-splitting screech, disappearing in a burst of dark purple dust.

Jack smiled, satisfied, before turning around to face the others. While he had been busy fighting the three Shadows, the other part of the group had used the distraction to continue pursuing their prey. While he had back turned, the three of them alone had each grabbed one in each claw and were chasing more with their beaks agape. Jack scowled. Not only were they dangerous, they were smart, too.

Jack raced at the falcon nearest him. He swung his staff at it, slamming the crook into it's back. It screeched like the rest of its fallen brethren, letting go of the two dreams it had caught. The gold specks twinkled happily before turning around and shooting off past Jack towards the Cloud Castle behind them. He felt a feeling of accomplishment, but knew he had only saved only two of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of the tiny, persecuted dreams. Turning his mind back to the rest of the battle, he spotted another Shadow chasing vigorously yet another little gold light, so consumed with the flight it didn't notice it was heading right to Jack's left side. Angling his attack to intercept the racing spirits, Jack took off toward them. Waiting for the perfect moment, he suddenly shot in front of the falcon, grabbing the Dream in his cupped hands.

"Ah!" he cried out suddenly. He instinctively pulled back his vulnerable palms from the searing hot speck. He blew on his hands, trying desperately to cool them off. He looked at the Dream in front of him. "Their hot!" he said (rather obviously) in disbelief. "Well, _duh!" _Heart said, snatching up the dropped gold light. "Their virtually living sparks!" she said, stuffing the Dream into the bottom of her quiver. Jack spotted more glows coming from the same place on her back. "Wait, why can you touch them?" he asked. She gave him another _Duh! _look and pointed to herself. "Uh, spirit of comfort and _warmth, _here!" she said, rolling her eyes. "These guys are practically related to me!" she said before flying off again.

Jack surveyed the scene around him. Off to his right, North and Bunnymund were on the sleigh, North slicing through Shadows as he flew past, Bunny throwing one boomerang and smacking falcons with the other. Tooth was a little ways in front of him, stabbing Shadows with one of Heart's red daggers and dogging the dust they caused after exploding. And to his far right, Heart shot arrows with pinpoint accuracy, hitting a Shadow with each one. Occasionally she threw a summoned knife when in close corters, which was hardly ever. She usually hit them before the got that close with a well-shot arrow. They seemed to be doing pretty well, except for one thing.

They still hadn't found Sandy.

Continuing to scan his surroundings for anything he might have missed, Jack spotted a dark purple flash of a cloak and jet black hair disappear behind the side of the Castle. Curious, he flew over to the place he saw it at and rounded the corner to see a woman, a simple purple silhouette like the Shadows, turn and glide up swiftly up the side of the wall, slipping unnoticed into an open window. Jack, knowing this could very well be important/dangerous, followed in through the same window.

**Cliffhanger! sorry if this disappoints you guys, but I will try to get Chapter 4 done as soon as possible!**


	4. Bonus Chapter, PLEASE READ AFTER CH 3!

**Bonus chapter! I couldn't figure out how to introduce my OC's abilities, so I just made it a random conversation with Jack. PLEASE READ! I will be using this as a reference throughout the rest of my story! Note; this has nothing to do with my story, just a what-if conversation that might happen if they had a spare moment.**

"Wait, Cupid?" Jack asked, looking at the girl standing in front of him with surprise. "Isn't Cupid supposed to be a little naked baby boy who giggles and shoots people all the time?" They were standing on the balcony of North's Workshop while everyone else had left to do their own thing. Heart gave him a weird look. "Well, sorry I didn't live up to your expectations." she said sarcastically. "That's not what I meant." Jack said regrettably. "Sheesh, next thing I know, you'll be asking me why I'm not wearing pink." Heart shuddered. "Ugh, I hate that color!" "We'll, that's another thing..." Jack added slowly. She looked at him. "Your serious?" She said. "Uh...Maybe?" Jack said. Heart sighed. "Fine, I'll give you the 15-minute biography on me, if that's what you want." She said and took a deep breath.

"Name; Cupid, spirit of love, warmth and comfort. Nickname; Heart. Gender; female. Eye color; gold. Hair color; dark blond. Special attributes; flight, courtesy of twin wings attached to my back, ability to heat anything with a touch, from drastic measures to slight warmth, and can throw the occasional fireball when I really need it. I can also summon daggers in the palm of my hand when ever I want." She picked this moment to raise and flick her wrist. It was immediately engulfed in a small flame, starting from her palm and moving up her hand to her fingertips. In it's wake, a small knife formed, a gold blade with an intricately carved red handle accented with an orange paint. She showed it off by holding the dagger with her thumb and forefinger and holding her hand beneath it. "Impressive." Jack admitted. She gave a satisfied smile before twirling the knife between her fingers and tossing it up in the air. With a snap of her fingers, the dagger exploded in another flame, disappearing without a trace. "Okay, that was cool!" Jack said in amazement. Heart bowed at his compliment. "But wait, there's more! " she said in a fake salesman voice.

"Behold, the bow-disguised-as-a-ring!" She announced, holding her hand up and showing off her cherry wood accessory. "I'll believe it when I see it." Jack said in doubt. Heart smiled before bring her thumb on her same hand to the top of the ring, pressing the carved flame. With a quiet click, the small piece of jewelry began to transform, starting with two rods popping out of the top and unfolding until they had formed a tall, curved pole, skinnier at the top and bottom and thicker towards the middle. Finally, a white piece of twine shot out from the bottom and hooked itself around the top. Heart now held in her hand a cherrywood bow with whittled vines climbing up it and a carved handle in the middle. "Okay, I believe it." Jack said in defeat. Heart smiled at him before grabbing one of her arrows off her back and notching it to her bow. She pulled it back and, after taking aim, shot it straight at a pile of carefully stacked stuffed animals. The arrow snagged a waving teddy bear by the hand off of the very top of the pile. The arrow flew with the bear in tow towards the opposite wall, where a yeti ducked at the last minute to avoid the ivory head of the arrow before it buried itself into the wall. The yeti looked at the arrow then at Heart and Jack before yelling something in Russian and waving his fists at them. "Sorry!" Heart called out, not sounding very apologetic. She turned back to Jack.

"I also happen to be a master at Tie Chea, Karate, Judo, and Tie Kwan Doe." She said proudly, her bow automatically folding back into her ring. Jack snorted. "Okay, that I do not believe." He said. Heart raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really?" She asked. She suddenly sent a round-house kick at him, narrowly missing Jack's head as he gave a quick duck. Using her momentum from the kick, Cupid crouched and swung her foot along the floor, sweeping Jack's unprepared feet out from under him. He fell to the ground, catching himself just before he hit the floor with a gust of wind.

"I taught her that." Said a proud Bunnymund from the doorway, who had come to watch from the other room. Cupid shrugged and helped Jack back onto his feet. "Only learn from the best." She said. "Uh-huh." Grumbled Jack, brushing himself off from his fall. "So, that's me." Heart said. "Hum..." Jack said. "Say, how fast do those things go?" He asked, pointing at the two wings on Heart's back. She looked at them, then at Jack. "Who wants to know?" She asked. "Oh, I was just wondering if they could beat my flying record." Jack said, folding his arms and shrugging. Heart raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that a challenge I hear?" She asked. "Only if you want it to be." Jack said smugly. Heart smirked at him. "Alright, here to Greenland." She said. "Ready set go!" She said quickly before running to the edge of the balcony and front flipping smartly off.

Suddenly a blur of white shot upward and Heart could be seen flying off like a red and white bird, feathery wings outstretched. Before he followed Jack turned to Bunnymund, still in his same spot as last time, leaning against the door frame. "I don't know why Tooth doesn't like her, I think she's awesome!" Jack said to him. "Yeah, you and me both, mate." Bunny agreed. Jack smiled at him before turning back to the sky and taking off after Heart.


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry, I accidentally deleted the story, but it's okay, I re-posted it! Unfortunately, all you followers who tagged this story aren't, anymore. Again, SORRY!**

As Jack flew into the open window of the Cloud Castle in quiet pursuit of the shaded figure, he found himself in a large room with a domed ceiling, made entirely of gold sand. All around the edges tall Greek style pillars reached towards the roof, about 14 feet in diameter. Between each one on the back wall behind was an arched window with simple, elegant molding framing the glass. The floor was covered with a large tile mural, one side covered in white, the other in a black, both with gold specks sprinkled along it. Separating the two colors was what looked like an explosion of purple with gold tinge to it. In the center of it all, a huge globe sat, almost exactly the same as North's, only slightly smaller and made entirely of gold. And in front of the controls, Nightshade herself solidified.

You could defiantly see the resemblance between the siblings. The same jet black hair, same height, same proud, defiant posture, like they knew they were better than everyone else. The only difference was Nightshade looked like she was sure of every one of her motives and she knew how all would play out exactly. By the way she held herself, you could tell she was much older and even more powerful, though from appearances, she looked about in her late twenties, early thirties.

She wore a dress that was simple and black, with long sleeves that grew from black to dark purple as it reached the cuffs and a skirt that met her ankles and swept backward. A slash of the same purple fabric started at the right side of her waist and grew larger as it got to the hem. Her hair was raven black, reaching just past her shoulders and feathering at the sides of her face and the back of her head. Her gold eyes glimmered evilly as she reached for a large lever off to her right side on the control panel, barely whispering, "Too easy."

She suddenly stopped, her hand an inch away from the controls, when she felt something press against her spine. "I'm not sure what that thing does, but I know I don't want you to pull it." Jack said from behind her, the crook of his staff poised against her back. She turned her head, looking at him from the corner of her eye. Nightshade sneered at the teenager threatening her before suddenly melting to the floor and into one of the many shadows that crossed the room. Jack whipped around, looking for the impossible to find. A evil laugh that echoed around the large room seemed to come from everywhere, so surprisingly soft it was terrifying. "Oh, Jack." Nightshade's voice rang out from seemingly everywhere in the room. "I've heard many stories about you. I have to say, though," she called, her voice choosing a spot to come from as she vaporized on top of the globe. "I was expecting someone a little... more." she said, studying him. "It's a wonder you managed to defeat my brother."

"Yeah, he didn't exactly think things through." Jack muttered, still pointing his staff at her. She chuckled again, a soft whispering that was so simple it was horrible. Just then the double doors behind Jack burst open and Heart leapt through them, three arrows notched in her bow. The rest of the Guardians followed her into the open room. Jack was relived to see Sandy among them, his whips at the ready. "Well if it isn't the famous Cupid!" Nightshade said, her voice dripping with disgust "Shade." Heart answered, her face hard. "Well, I had not idea you had joined the Guardians, Heart." Shade said, glancing at the rest of the group. "I didn't _join _them, they asked nicely, so I'm doing them a favor." Heart replied bitterly. Shade gave another one of her laughs that sent chills down Jack's back (and _that _was saying something!).

"Well, Heart, I didn't know you could be bought so easily!" she chuckled. "Especially by someone you scared silly." Heart blinked at her in surprise. "How did you know about that?" she asked, confused. Shade grinned at her expression. "Oh, I get my information." she said causally, examining her nails. "You mean a spy." Heart said this as a statement instead of a question. "Oh, Heart, dear, 'spy' is such a nasty word." Shade, fluttering her eyes at Heart. "I prefer... contact." "Who?" Jack asked, joining into the conversation. Shade looked at him, seeming to remember he was there. "Well, I'm obviously not going to tell _you._" she said like it was ridiculous he would even ask. "Now, if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to." And with that, Nightshade melted again and disappeared into the shadow of a large column.

Suddenly, Jack saw a Shadow fly in behind the rest of the Guardians, so silent no one else noticed it. It shot past the columns on either side of it and straight toward the Tooth Fairy. "Tooth, duck!" Jack yelled, but it was too late. The huge bird smashed into Tooth between her wings, exploding into a cloud of purple sand on contact. Tooth let out a blood-chilling scream, her back arching where the Shadow had hit. Her wings went limp, letting her crumpling into a ball on the floor. Jack flew as fast as he could to Tooth, but Heart still beat him to her. By the time he had gotten there, Heart was checking Tooth's pulse and examining the black splatter on her back, growing purple as it came out from the middle. Tooth's face was grimacing in pain, her feathers bristling as she shivered.

"What did it do to her?!" Jack asked, concerned for his friend. "I'm not sure. It seemed to have gotten... _inside _of her somehow." Heart said. "I've never seen Shade pull anything like this." "I have." Jack said grimly. "Pitch did something a lot like this in the Battle of Nightmares." he said, looking at Sandy. He rubbed the middle of his back, as if he could still feel the fear creeping into him. "Do you know anything that can help her?" Heart asked, reading the situation perfectly. Sandy looked at Tooth before rapidly gesturing and flashing little sand signals over his head. Jack hadn't been around Sandy to understand him, but Heart sighed when she caught his meeting. "Of course it wasn't the same, you just disappeared where as Tooth is still here. Barely." she mumbled that last part to herself, but Jack was close enough to hear it.

Suddenly, Tooth screamed again, her eyes snapping open. They were so startling, Jack almost dropped his staff. They were still her normal violet, but all around them, dark purple clouds swarmed all around the edges, seeming to want to move closer but not able to. "We have to get her back to the Workshop." Jack said diffidently. Heart nodded in agreement, gently picking up Tooth and getting to her feet. "What about the rest of the Shadows?" Bunnymund asked, nodding to the open door. Sandy tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the high roof above them. Jack followed his finger along with everyone else and saw a huge cloud of small gold Dreams mingling overhead. "Well, by the looks of things, we were able to catch the majority of them." Jack said, trying to sound optimistic despite their bad circumstances.

"Are you kidding?" Heart asked. "What?" he asked. Heart sighed. "This is only a small fraction of all the Dreams." she said grimly. "Each child-_each _child-has _hundreds_ of dreams. We were lucky we got this much." "Oh." Jack said, finally catching on to how much trouble they were really in. Heart sighed again, and Jack realized how weary she looked. "Come on, lets get back to the workshop. The Shadows are gone, there's no more that we can do." she said. Jack nodded, and the group trudged to the sleigh.

**Sorry it took so long to get this posted! I had inspiration for an Avengers one and it wouldn't leave me alone. Got two chapters of that done; you should check it out! Anyway, hope you liked it and I will try to be faster with the next chapter. **


	6. Chapter 5

Bunnymund pace the balcony, Sandy was shooting little gold fireworks at an elf, and North to the right of him, fidgeting with some pieces of metal and a couple of screws, making something before pulling it apart again and making it into something else. Jack was balancing along the railing of the balcony, not worrying about the snowy ground beneath him, but instead his mind was on his friend. Heart, being the spirit of comfort, knew the most about first aid and was in the other room, examining Tooth, trying to figure out a way to get rid of the Shadow inside of her.

Jack glanced at North as he toyed with his pieces nervously. Last time he had checked the large Russian, he had been assembling what looked like a toy robot. Now, he had dissembled it and was making something along the lines of a small train. Jack continued to pace the banister, his feet making webs of ice wherever he stepped. He didn't even bother to be scared of the white ground far beneath him; his mind was on his friend. Heart, being the spirit of comfort and knowing the most about first aid, was in the other room with Tooth. She was trying to get a grasp on what the Shadow inside of Tooth and how to get rid of it. He and the rest of the guys had been waiting outside on the balcony for a good half an hour.

There was a small click and Heart stepped out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Everyone stopped what they were doing (the elf Sandy had been toying with was especially happy about this) and looked at her. She sighed. "Well, I have good news and I have bad news." she said, choosing her words carefully. "Which do you want to hear first?"

Jack was the first to suggest, "What's the bad news?" Heart sighed. "Um, the Shadow seems to be trying to take over her mind. If it does, it'll fry her brain." "Then what's the good news?" Bunnymund asked impatiently. "Uh, I think I might know a way to get rid of it." she said cautiously. "Well, that's great!" Jack said. "But it's going to take a couple of days." she finished. "And with Shade out there with all those new tricks up her sleeve, we need all the help we can get." "Oh." North said.

"Well, that's why we have you, right?" Jack asked Heart. "Or will you be preoccupied the next couple days too?" Heart shook her head. "No, I'll only need a hour or two with her, but the rest of the process will take four days to a week." "When do you want to start Project Anti-Shadow?" Jack asked. "I've put her through enough already." Heart answered. "I should let her rest a few hours, maximum. In the meantime, I suggest you all find something to do while we wait." They all nodded and went off to do their own thing. Jack lingered behind and watched Heart walk to the balcony and rest her elbows on the railing, putting her face in her hands.

Jack walked over to her, leaning his staff next to him as he put his arms on the banister by Heart. They stood there for a while before Jack broke the silence. "Its going to be alright." Heart took her head out of her hands and sighed, folding her arms. "I've never pulled something like this before. _Shade _has never pulled something like this before. I'm just nervous because nothing even close to this has happened to me." she said. Jack had never seen Heart in this much stress. "Lets take your mind off of this stuff. I'm still new to this whole thing, and somethings been bothering me. Maybe you can explain it." Heart looked at him skeptically before smiling and taking the bait. "Shoot." she said, adjusting her arms in a more comfortable position. "That tile mural in the Cloud Castle's floor. What is it?" he asked. Heart stared at him. "I forget your only 300 years old." she said before looking out at the snowy wasteland and starting the story.

"In the beginning, there was only darkness. Everything was always covered in black. There was no light. Then Caliph Lux, the overseer of this universe, created the... first guardians, or Curators. There were..." Heart began counting on her fingers here, "... 25 Curators, but I only know one. That's him." she said, pointing at the glaring sun in the blue sky. "Rector Sol. He was the Curator chosen to watch over our corner of the universe. But he had so many planets to watch over he needed help. So he created three minor guardians. The Fautoriams. Each was appointed three planets to watch over closely, while Rector Sol watched over our solar system in general. And _our_ Fautoriam is _him._" she continued, moving her finger to the moon on the other side of Jack's vision, looking like a small cloud in the clear day sky.

"The Man in the Moon." Jack said, gazing at the full white circle. Heart looked at him. "Is that what you call him?" she asked, surprised "Um, yeah..." Jack said, confused. Heart gave a small smile and shook her head. "I had no idea you called him that." she said looking back at the moon. "Why, isn't that what you call him?" Jack asked. Heart looked at him again. "I call him by his _real _title, not some nickname a handful of humans came up with when they saw him once." "Well, if your that smart, what _is _his real name?" Jack accused. Heart stared at him for a while longer before turning back to the moon with a sigh. "His name's Tasar Luna. He's in charge of watching us, Venus, and Mercury. That's why he gets smaller and larger every time we see him; when he's checking on Venus and Mercury, he gets farther away. When that happens, we can only see parts of him. Sometimes he gets so far away, we can't even see him anymore. Then he grows bigger as he comes to check on us, which is about once a month."

"Um, okay, but what does this have to do with the mural at Sandy's place?" Jack inquired, sensing they were getting a little off topic. "Well, when this all first started way back when, things were going pretty well for a few eras. Until darkness, who's name was Tenebris, decided she didn't have enough free reign over the earth. So she made a demand to Rector Sol; give her more time for night to grab hold over the earth. Well, naturally Rector Sol refused; that would throw his entire solar system into chaos. But Tenebris was stubborn and refused to be put down so easily. She made demands. He refused to comply. Soon the argument grew so heated they attacked one another; Rector Sol, for the protection of his solar system, Tenebris for power. When their strikes met, they created Nightshade. The perfect mix of light and dark. She was the black created when light was blocked. But she was more of her mother than Rector Sol, so she sided with Tenebris. And she trained her well. _Very _well. Earth was exposed to, for the first time, a part of Tenebris that was only supposed to be seen and felt at night. Their protection gained from Rector Sol was contaminated with Tenebris. They could not escape her.

"Soon, Tenebris realized how well this was working for her. So, the thought crossed her mind, what if she had more than one? So, a few centuries later, Pitch was created. Only Pitch, having none of Rector Sol in him, unlike Shade, gave fear to the earth on all of _his _visits as well as darkness. Therefor, the first Nightmares were made in the process. And they have done their job very well ever sense." Heart stood, stretching her arms that had grown stiff over the talk before leaning on the banister with it against her back. "So there you have it. Sandy's mural is picturing the fight of Rector Sol and Tenebris and the creation of Nightshade." Jack nodded. "Funny, I had no idea that's what happened." Jack said. "Yep."Heart agreed. They stood there in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Heart straightened again. "I better go. I'll need to be ready for Tooth when she wakes up." Jack nodded and watched her walk away into the building, wings in tow.


	7. Chapter 6

"I can't handle all this pacing!" Jack suddenly burst out from the ceiling where he had been walking upside down. "She said it would take a couple hours, max! She's been in there for five!" Heart had gone into Tooth's room after her conversation with Jack at noon. Outside, the sky had grown dimmer as the sun-sorry, Rector Sol- set in the horizon. Sandy had left to go check on his Dreams back in Africa (he had gotten sick of pacing, too), and North was yelling at some yetis for building 30 dozen dolls instead of 30. Bunnymund and Jack were still hanging out at the balcony by the globe, Bunny painting eggs and Jack was... yep, pacing the roof.

"Why don't you find something else to do?" Bunnymund asked, dabbing another green polka-dot on a pink egg. "There is _nothing _else to do, my anxiousness keeps getting the best of me." Jack continued to complain. He looked over at a red-faced North, still screaming at his yetis in rapid fire Russian. "Why don't I have minions to help me with _my _job?" Jack asked jealously. Bunny looked at him curiously. "What is _that _supposed to mean?" he asked, confused. "Well, all the rest of the Guardians have them. You have your walking eggs, Tooth had her fairies, Sandy has his Dreams, and North as his yetis and elfs. Why did Tasar Luna skip _me__?"_ he asked.

"Maybe you do your job well enough as it is. I can't say, I don't see you that much." he said after a minute. "Why do you ask?" "I don't know, I just need someone to yell at who can't yell back." Jack said, giving another jealous look to North. Bunny followed his gaze. "You know, Heart doesn't have any 'minions' either." he said. "Yeah, but technically she's not a Guardian." Jack pointed out with a sigh. "I guess that makes us both loners." Bunny turned back to his painting but continued to talk to Jack. "Well, you got us to talk to now. And you and Heart seem to have a lot in common."

Jack looked at him but couldn't think of anything else to say. Luckily he didn't have to. Just then Heart opened the door and braced herself against the frame. Her eyelids were fluttering wildly, trying to stay open, and her knees were knocking together. Her hair had fallen in front of her face and her elbows shook from holding herself up against the doorway. Bunnymund put down his egg and brush. "What happened?" he asked, concerned at her appearance. She looked at him like she was dreaming. "Tooth's going to be fine." she said wearily. "Well, now it's you I'm worried about, lass." he said, putting her right arm over his shoulder, Jack doing the same on her left. "You look like your going to pass out." "I'll be fine." Heart protested halfheartedly. "I just need a little sleep..." She suddenly slumped forward, unconscious.

"That's what I thought." Bunny said with a smile. Together, he and Jack got her down the stairwell and to the row of rooms they were staying in. North spotted them as they pasted and stopped yelling long enough to look at them questioningly. "She just needs some sleep." Jack explained with a smile. North gave them a doubts look but eventually went back to his yetis. Jack opened the third door on the left and he and Bunnymund lay Heart on the bed, her wings carefully set off to her side. Her skin was warm to the touch (which made sense), so they didn't bother with the covers. Then they both left to let her sleep.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It was the next morning. Heart had slept fifteen hours straight and had yet to wake up. No one had bothered Tooth; Heart's warning of her needing a few days to heal floated in all of their minds. The rest of the Guardians had gathered together on the balcony in front of the globe again. "So," Bunny said after a moment. "What do we do now? We can't exactly wait a week for Tooth to get better. Who knows what Shade will do in that time."

Sandy flashed a few symbols over his head, careful to keep them slow enough for everyone to see them, as Heart wasn't there to interpret. "Of course!" Jack exclaimed. "Sandy needs to make more dreams, and we need to help him! Sorry I hadn't thought of that." "Well, than, let's get going! We need to get to the Castle again!" Bunnymund joined in. "I will go prepare the sleigh!" North said, walking towards the elevator. Bunny nodded in agreement. "Yeah, good idea, and I'll... hey, wait! I refuse to take another ride in that thing!..." He took after North, trying to convince him not to 'prepare the sleigh'.

Just then a yawn came from down the stairs and Heart came climbing up, rubbing her eyes. Jack stared at her. She looked over at him and paused at the top of the stairs. "What?" she asked suspiciously. "What _happened _to you?" he asked. "Um, I spent five hours in a healing process that cost most of my energy before sleeping fifteen hours straight. Why?" she asked, confused. "No, I meant what happened to your head?!" Jack asked in horror. Heart stared at him before looking into the nearest wall mirror. Her hair was all leaning to the right and stuck up in every direction, full of tangles and knots.

Heart sighed before rubbing her eyes again. "I am _not _a morning person." she said. "Uh, yeah. I can tell." Jack said skeptically, eyeing her hair. Suddenly a yell from Bunny, "You take that back!", came from the other room. Sandy looked up before turning to Jack with a questioningly look. "Yeah, we should probably check that out." Jack agreed. "You go do that." Heart said, crossing her arms with a smile. "It might be dangerous in there." Jack rolled his eyes and walk in with Sandy beside him. Heart smiled as they walked away before frowning and looking next to her. There stood a yeti staring at her intently. "What are _you _looking at?" Heart challenged. The yeti grunted in what sounded like a surprised question. "No, I am _not _your aunt's sister-in-law! Go get me a hairbrush!" Heart exclaimed angrily. The yeti reluctantly turned away to comply but not without another skeptical look at Heart. "Where would you even _get _that idea?" Heart grumbled, trying to smooth down her hair.

Jack and Sandy came in dragging a unconscious Bunnymund into the room. Heart gave them a startled look. "What happened?" "North and Bunny got in another 'Christmas is better than Easter' argument, and I guess North just said it outright." Jack explained with a smile. "That got Bunny pretty wound up, and Sandy had to put him out with the Dreamsand while the yetis restrained North. There trying to calm him down right now." Heart laughed hysterically. "Wow, these guys _never_ change!" she said through giggles.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

In the end, Bunny slipped into one of his tunnels when no one was looking, North hopped on a reindeer (A large reindeer. A _very _large reindeer), and Jack, Sandy, and Heart all had to follow North through his snowglobe portal. While they had been gone, the Dreams that had managed to stay away from Shade's Shadows had replaced the door, fixed the twisted gates in the courtyard, and had even wiped the gold globe clean of any leftover purple sand. "So, what do we do first?" Heart asked. Sandy thought for a moment before flashing a little image of a girl sitting next to a book, then a small bubble over her head of her and her mom. "We need kids memories to get a feel of what they dream about?" Jack guessed. Sandy nodded before making a little gold tooth above his head. "Then to the Tooth Palace, we go!" North said before turning back the way he came towards his reindeer. Jack turned to Sandy and Bunnymund. "Why don't you guys get things ready here while we go get some teeth." Sandy nodded while Bunny just grunted. Jack took that as a yes and took off after North and Heart, who had already taken off and were heading to the portal.

A moment later, they were one of the many balconies of the Tooth Palace, where a group of fairies greeted them. Jack hopped down as they all s warmed him. "Hey, guys! How's it been?" he said warmly, brushing a tiny fairy away from his mouth. One of them twittered nervously at him questioningly."Yeah, Tooth's fine, she's just going to be gone a little while longer. She got hurt, but she's getting better." he explained. The fairy gave a high-pitched twitter of relief. "Hey, can we barrow some teeth? Sandy's place got attacked and he had a bunch of Dreams captured, and we need to make more. And we were thinking memories would be a good place to start." The fairy started to nodded but stopped and turned to Heart, seeming to just have noticed she was there. She glared at her and pointed, turning to Jack and chirping another question. "Who, Heart? What about her?" Jack asked, looking at Heart for an explanation.

She sighed. "The little beasties take after their boss. None of them seem to trust me, though I don't know why." she said, rolling her eyes. The fairy in front of Jack balled up her fists and charged Heart, little wings zipping. She didn't get very far before Jack gently but firmly plucked her out of the air by her wings and pulled her back. "Hey, let's focus on the task at hand, 'kay? We just need some teeth, we'll bring them back as soon as we can." he said, bringing the conversation back on track. The fairy thought for a minute, then cast one more angry look at Heart before finally giving in with a curt nod.

"Thanks, we'll bring them straight back." Jack repeated. She nodded again before wiggling out of Jack's fingers and zooming off with her friends. Jack turned back to North and Heart. "Alright, let's grab some teeth!"

**Sorry, this chapter didn't have very much happen in it. But I have kinda busy lately and haven't really had a whole lot of time on here. Don't worry, big surprise coming up that I'm super excited about!**


	8. Chapter 7

Jack opened his eyes to the sun's blinding light streaming in through his window. He rubbed his eyes and sat up on on the green bed in the room he had been borrowing while at North's. He stretched his arms and rubbed his eyes again, yawning. They had stayed the Cloud Castle until late last night, skimming memories and making Dreams. They had gotten quite a few done, but they still had a ways to go before they were finished.

Jack got up and headed for the door to see what everyone else was up to. As he walked towards the balcony that the group seemed to gather at a lot, he past Tooth's room. A rustle came from behind the door. Jack froze and listened. A groan came and the door opened to reveal Tooth, rubbing the back of her head with her eyes closed. Jack waited, still frozen (and in some cases, literally), and waited for her to open her eyes. His mind kept on going back to when she was first hit with the Shadow, that clouded look in her eyes. If there was even a trace left, he was getting help and keeping that door shut and locked.

Finally, Tooth's eyes fluttered open after what seemed like forever. They were their normal violet. Jack let out a sigh of relief he realized he had been holding. "Jack?" Tooth asked groggily. "What happened?" Jack's face suddenly broke into a huge grin and he gave his friend a hug. He hadn't realized how much he had worried about Tooth. The fact that she was just fine, and ahead of schedule...

That last thought sent a explosive jolt through him. Tooth was ahead of schedule. It had only been four days since the attack; Heart said the process would take five, minimum. What changed? Oh, it could wait, whatever it was. Right now he had to get her to the balcony were everyone else was. Jack looked at Tooth. "Oh, I'm so glad your alright. Come on, we got to get to the others! Can you walk?" "I think so." said Tooth, but she took a step and her knees buckled. Jack caught her before she hit the ground. "Or, maybe not." she said, attempting a weak smile. "How about your wings?" Jack asked. Tooth buzzed them experimentally before giving it full strength and hovered a foot of the ground. "Yeah, I think just my knees are weak." she said. Jack, floating next to her, led her up the stairs to the balcony.

Everyone, already there, looked up at the two as they reached the top of the staircase. "Tooth!" North bellowed, rushing over to her and giving her one of his massive hugs. "Hey, North!" Tooth laughed, hugging him back. "Well, your ahead of schedule." Heart said, leaning against the railing with her arms folded, a smile playing across her mouth. "I wonder why..." "Well, I don't care what it is, I'm glad she's back." Bunnymund said happily.

Tooth's smile disappeared. "I had a dream while I was out." she said, suddenly serious. Everyone else followed suit, looking at her with grim intense. "It was of Shade. She was standing in a dim room, talking to someone in the shadows. It was so sharp and clear, I felt almost like I was there. I couldn't tell who she was talking to, but it looked like a vague outline of a person, not a Shadow. And... and she... she told them..." Tooth stopped, looking at the ground as her eyes began to fill with tears. Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Tooth." he said gently. "What did she say?"

Tooth took a shaky breath before answering. "She said, 'Your doing well. Continue with your role and keep in touch with me. Your part is a large help to our cause.' She looked thoughtful for a second. 'So their making more Dreams instead of rescuing the old ones.' she said, rubbing her chin before looking back at the person, who nodded. 'Thank you, I'm sure that information will become quite useful.' The person nodded before turning around and disappearing into the dark. And just before they left, something came into the light. I couldn't tell what substance it was, but whatever it was, it was a gray black." Tooth finished, leaving the room in silence.

Heart was the first to speak. "Well, that could be a number of things. It could be Bunny's fur, or North's coat, or Jack's stick, or anything." she said, looking at everyone in turn. "I don't know." said Tooth, looking up at Heart grimly. "I thought I saw a turquoise _tinge _to it." she said, glaring at her enemy. Heart narrowed her eyes at her. "What are you suggesting?" "Oh, I don't know." Tooth said sarcastically. "Maybe that it was one of _your _wings caught in the bad lighting?" she spat.

"Hey, you guys, we haven't even thought about the obvious answer." Jack butted in. Everyone looked at him. "Think. Who wears the most black out of everyone we know?" he asked, tapping his head. When no one answered, he said it for them. "What if Pitch is back?" Bunnymund snorted. "I doubt it. Those Nightmares seamed to have taken pretty good care of him."

Suddenly a huge crash came from down below, followed by angry bellows of numerous yetis. Heart, who was closest to the balcony, leaned over and looked at the level the yelling came from. "Oi." North grumbled, face-palming at the commotion. "I should probably go take care of that." he sighed. "Na, I'll handle it." Heart said, flapping her wings. "We can't have you losing weight with all those stairs. Besides, I speak Yetish." And with that, she vaulted the railing and glided down to the scene.

As soon as Heart was out of earshot, Tooth turned to the rest of the group. "You guys, out of all of us, I think she's the most suspicious. I definatly don't trust her." "Yeah, you've never trusted her, so I'm not sure that actually counts for anything." Bunnymund said, leaning against a column. "Yeah, but think." Tooth said, pointing to her temple. "We've know her the least amount of time," Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Bunny caught his eye and shook his head, "We know the least about her, and we have no idea what she's been doing since 1574. What if she's been in touch with Shade since then?" "What about when we stopped that eclipse?" Bunny countered. "She never showed any sign of betraying us then. Why would she have any reason to change?" "Yeah, she helped us, but she would disappear from from time to time, remember?" Tooth pointed out. "Where did she go during that time?" Bunnymund shrugged. "I don't know, but I think she deserves a little privacy like the rest of us. Besides, have you _seen _how she acts about Shade? I think she hates her more than any of us, though I don't know why. But, again, I'm not going to probe, she can have her space."

"Yeah, but-" Tooth was cut short as Heart appeared over the railing and landed from handling things bellow them. "Just a one Yeti accidently knocking over another's stack of toys." she said, folding her wings behind her. She looked at everyone else's serious faces. "What'd I miss." she asked, giving them a wary glance. "The real question is what do we do from here." Bunny said, changing the subject and giving Tooth a look that said not to change it back. Everyone thought in silence for a minute, pondering Bunnymund's question.

"Well, let's go over what we know so far." Tooth said, breaking the silence. "We know that Nightshade is back when she has been dormant for a few hundred year, supposedly encouraged by Pitch's rebellion. We know that she now holds most of the Dreams captive, which we now are making more of in every spare moment. We know she found some new ways to mess with us through her Shadows. And we know that one of us is a spy. So, from the looks of things, it's our move. What do we do?" Again, the room fell into silence.

"Wait, wait." Jack said waving his finger in an epiphany. "You guys, there's a pattern here!" he said, hopping up on a table in front of everyone. "Shade attacked the Cloud Castle, just like Pitch attacked the Tooth Palace. Shade stole the Dreams; Pitch stole the teeth. We made more Dreams; we collected the teeth." Jack looked at everyone earnestly. "Shade is copying her brother, we already _know _what the next move is!" he practically shouted.

Suddenly, the shriek of a Shadow came from outside. Bunnymund ran to the outside half of the balcony and looked over the side. "Right on cue, mate." he complemented Jack. "The enemy just arrived." Tooth nudged Sandy. "It's alright, Sandy. I got your back this time."


	9. Chapter 8

North pushed open the double doors leading outside, the rest of the group close behind. Outside, Shadows flew thick in the air, dive-bombing bellowing yetis who chucked javelins at the giant falcons. "Finally, some action." Jack grumbled as he took off towards the raging battle, Sandy, Heart and Tooth close behind. Looking behind him, Jack spotted Bunnymund hitch a ride on a Shadow and North leaping into the snow to join his yetis. Jack tightened his grip on his staff and smacked a Shadow right in the face as it pasted him.

He turned around and raced through the crowded skies, freezing Shadows as he went. Suddenly, Heart's voice cut through the air, "Jack!". He turned at the sound of his name to see Heart flick her wrist and send a knife flying through the air, straight towards Jack. It spun so fast, Jack could only think rather than react. Tooth had been right. Heart _had _to be the spy, and now she was taking the moment of confusion to take out the enemy, one by one.

Jack closed his eyes, waiting for the knife to hit home, when it.. whistled past his ear. Jack opened his eyes and turned around to see the gold blade embed itself in a Shadow only inches from Jack. With a screech, the Shadow dispersed into the air in a flurry of purple sand. Jack turned back to a smiling Heart. "T-thanks." he called, finding his voice. "No problem." she called back, turning around to face the rest of the Shadows. Once her back was turned, Jack let out a sigh of relief. How could he even suspect Heart to be the spy? She had done nothing to deserve his doubt, even saved his life numerously. He _had _to get Tooth's words out of his head.

"Shade!" Bunnymund cried from Jack's left. He turned to see Bunny standing on Sandy's gold cloud facing Shade, standing on a purple disk hovering not far in front of them. "Hello, rabbit." she called back tauntingly. "I trust you haven't un-rooted my ally yet?" she sneered. Bunny glowered at her. "Ally or no ally, we can beat you, we both know it." Heart, Tooth, North and Jack had all joined Sandy and Bunny in front of Shade. Her Shadows followed suit, grouping behind her in a huge, purple cloud.

Shade caught sight of Tooth hovering next to Jack. "Ah, Tooth. I see you are feeling better. Had any good dreams while you were asleep?" "I'm feeling much better, thanks to Heart." Tooth shot back. "Oh, yes, Heart, I had forgot you seem to have a knack for healing. I wonder which side of the family _that _came from."

Jack, confused by the comment, turned to Heart for some sort of explanation. But he had a feeling now wasn't the time. Heart's face had gone the color of paper and her hands were gripping her bow so tightly her knuckles where white. "What do you mean?" Tooth finally asked Shade. Surprisingly, she just laughed. "What, you know _nothing _about her past?" she asked, amused and appalled at the same time. "Shut up." Heart said quietly, notching a arrow in her bow and taking aim at Shade. Tooth looked at Heart, then back at Shade before shaking her head. Shade looked at Heart with a smirk, then back at the rest of the group. "She has her aunt's eyes." she said simply.

Jack's eyes widened as he looked from Shade's eyes to Heart's, who glanced at him before looking at her feet. Both of them where the same color. Both of them had the same gold eyes. The same eyes as Pitch's. "No way..." he whispered. Shade smiled smugly. "I guess that color runs in the family." "I said shut up!" Heart shouted, letting her arrow fly. Just as it was inches from her face, Shade melted into her floating disk and the arrow flew harmlessly past. From above Shade's crowd of Shadows, a black void opened and the whole armada flew into it, disappearing to wherever it led. Soon, the whole fleet was gone and the void closed, leaving Shade's whispering cackle to show she was ever there.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Wait, your Pitch's _daughter?!_" Bunnymund said once everyone had rendezvous back at the balcony. "I _knew _it!" Tooth cried. "I _knew _we couldn't trust you!" She turned to the rest of the group. "Not only is she shady in her business, she's the enemy's niece!" She glared at Heart. "She _ha__s _to be Shade's spy!" "I'm not the spy, you guys should know me enough to know that much." Heart said. "How do we know what you say is true?" Tooth accused "Your so vague about your background, not even telling us who your _related _to." "Well wouldn't _you _try to not let someone know about your family when your related to two of the worst spirits on the planet?" Heart said, turning to look at her. "If you really wanted to help us, you would let us know who you are at least!" Tooth shot back. "What, so you have all the more reason to not trust me?" Heart asked.

Tooth opened her mouth to say something back when Bunnymund laid a paw on her shoulder. "Tooth, you might want to take a the accusations down a notch." he said gently. Tooth glared at a smug looking Heart. Bunny turned to her. "But she does have a point, Heart. It would have been nice to know beforehand." Heart's face fell. "My cloudy past never meant anything in 1574. Why is now so different?" "Because Shade being your aunt can somewhat change this game we're playing. It's not your cloudy past that means something, it's that we didn't know your family or your relationship with them."

Heart looked at Bunny, then at North, Sandy, and finally Jack. None of them met her gaze or came to her aid. Her face hardened. "You know what?" she asked hotly. "You guys fight this battle without me. I'm outta here." and with that she turned around and took off from the balcony and flew away into the open sky. Jack sighed. "I'll go get her." he said, and leaped off to follow her.


	10. Chapter 9

Heart flew for what seemed like ages. Jack followed a ways back, trying to hide behind clouds when he could, but there wasn't much need to. Heart seemed to absorbed in her own thoughts to look behind her. Both of them flew from North's shop to the tip of Germany, over a large forest of evergreens covered in a small layer of melting snow. Piles of the white powder lay in heaps all around the huge pine trunks. Heart seemed to have gotten tired of flying and landed in a small clearing surrounded by a ring of trees and a huge, round rock three times as tall as herself. Jack landed a few feet back from the clearing, where the trees where dense but he had a good view of Heart. She had her back to him, and for a while she just stood there, as if she was a statue. Jack caught the slightest movement only from her hands as they closed into fists, so hard her knuckles turned white and she arms shook.

With a frustrated yell, she suddenly whipped to her right and sent a ball of fire hurtling towards the rock face. It landed with a _boof _as it dispersed, leaving a black scorch mark on the rock. She chucked another, and another, and another, until her fireballs grew smaller and dimmer. Soon she was sweating and breathing hard, but she wasn't done. Her fireballs turned into daggers and her aim diverted from the rock to the nearest tree. Unfortunately, that was the tree Jack was hiding behind. He gasped and flattened himself against the back of the trunk as the knife sank into the it behind him. Heart paused for a moment (Jack couldn't tell why, he was facing away from her), so he quietly tried to slide away to the nearest tree. Just then another dagger embedded itself into the branch next to him. He quickly withdrew to his previous hiding spot.

Jack closed his eyes, listening to more angry cries and knifes hitting the tree with hard _thuds_. He went over what he knew in his head, trying to be logical with his thoughts. Seeing that Heart hadn't noticed him but the dagger had still come closer to where he was, that had probably just been instinct to hit things that moved. So she hadn't actually seen him. Good. Unfortunately, that also meant that he was stuck behind this tree... the one tree an angry Heart decided to attack. Jack sighed. Out of all the trees, she picked this one. Oh, joy.

Heart kept at it for a good fifteen minutes. Jack made a few more attempts at escape, but no luck. When the daggers stopped coming, Jack risked a tentative peek at his friend. She was exhausted, breathing hard and sweat pouring down her face, and she finally seemed to have calmed down a little. Not much, but a little. With a loud sigh, she turned around and took to the skies... yet again. Jack waited a moment to give her a head start before following.

After a while, Heart flew into a cloud, and when Jack followed and emerged a few seconds later, he was alarmed to see that his friend had disappeared. He looked around for a moment before spotting a nearby cave in the cliff side to his right. Relaxing ever so slightly, he made his way to the entrance. He landed on the outcropping and peaked inside. Towards the back of the cave sat Heart, facing the back wall.

"You don't have to hide." she grumbled. "I know you're there." Jack, seeing no more purpose in hiding, stepped into plain sight behind his friend. "Why'd you follow me?" she asked over her shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay." he answered. Heart gave a hollow laugh. "No, you didn't." she said, standing up and turning to face Jack. "You want answers." "Well, yeah, some answers would be nice, sure." Heart sighed and brushed past him. "I knew it." "I mean, it would have been nice if you had at least mentioned it." Jack paused. "Why _didn't_ you mention it? Did you not think we were trustworthy or something? We wouldn't have treated you any differently. I mean, what were your reasons? Because, honestly, I can't see any. So, why didn't you tell-"

"I don't know!" Heart suddenly shouted, whipping around to face him. Jack was shocked into silence by the sight of tears streaming down her cheeks. Not in the whole time he had known her, Jack had never been able to even imagine Heart crying. "I just... I don't know why." She sobbed, leaning against the cave wall and sliding to the floor. Jack, feeling rather guilty, sat next to her.

"You and the other Guardians all wish that you had families." she said through tears. "That's one of the reasons you want to be seen and believed in. You all know that, even though your original families are gone, you can substitute them with others. Friends are the closest thing you all have to family. But you all take it for granted. You assume that all families are perfect and loving. But not all of them are." she spat. "Growing up knowing I was literally the child of fear, all I wanted to do was get away from _my _family. Besides, you and the Guardians have each other. You _all _are family. I don't have anything like that. I don't even have anyone that believes in me. All your believers are children, all too young for love. By the time they are, they think believing in spirits are for kids. I mean, who do you know who believes in _Cupid?_"

Heart broke down then, putting her face in her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. Jack, an attempt that he hoped was comforting, wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders. She gave into his touch, leaning against him as the hot tears came. And there the two friends sat, silhouetted against the setting sun.


	11. Chapter 10

Jack tossed another tooth capsule into the bag. He had made a solo trip to the Tooth Palace to gather more teeth for the dreams. Heart had gotten back to North's Workshop and shut herself in her room, making sure to avoid everyone she could. Jack and the others had gone back to what they always did in their spare time lately; making Dreams. That's what everyone else was doing back at the North Pole.

Jack looked at a capsule. A picture of a smiling girl with a blond pixie cut and hazel eyes looked back at him. He set in the basket with the rest before picking up another one. This time it was a Asian girl with black hair and deep brown eyes. Into the basket. Then a boy with short brown hair and glasses with a goofy grin. Into the basket. Suddenly Jack froze, looking at picture on the newest capsule. A girl with long blond hair and gold eyes smiled knowingly up to him. Heart. Jack stared at it. He looked around. He was alone in his corner of the Tooth Palace, all the fairies busy doing their own jobs.

His mind weighed the idea forming in his head. These where Hearts memories, not his. She had a right to keep them a secret. But what if there was something in them that could help? They were still private. But curiosity got the better of him. He had to have proof of whether or not Heart was trustworthy. _He _thought she was, but Tooth had already planted doubt in his mind. He need to know whether or not to let the doubt grow or get rid of it.

Jack sighed. He _had _to know. Reluctantly, he reached up and touched the blue diamond in the middle of the capsule. The scene suddenly changed to a dark cave made of a gray rock, the only opening a hole the size of a door covered by a hanging black sheet and a small candle was lit on the other side of the room. The area was mostly bare, with a small dresser and bed off in one corner. Once Jack's eyes adjusted to the dim light, he looked at the simple bed to see a small figure. She was very little, only what looked like seven, her wings were smaller and her hair was shorter, but it was definitely Heart. She was barefoot and was in a simple white dress, sitting on her bed close to the small flame. In her hand she had a book that she was attempting to read in the flickering candle light.

From outside the sheet serving as a door, the neighing of a Nightmare echoed through the dark rock tunnels. Heart's head whipped around towards the door, looking alarmed. Quickly closing the book, she shoved it between the rock wall and her bed just as Pitch Black himself pulled aside the curtain and looked inside her room. Heart looked back at him as he narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, suspicious. "Just... thinking." she answered. "Not much else to do around here." Pitch looked around her room one more time before grunting. "Well, I'm back from a rather long night, so I'm going to bed. Stay quiet." he commanded.

Just as he was about to leave, a new voice rang out from outside the room. "Pitch! Pitch, where are you?" Pitch closed his eyes and groaned. "Of all days..." he grumbled. Heart, meanwhile, brightened at the voice. "Auntie!" she said excitedly. She hopped off her bed, brushed past Pitch and ran out the door, bare feet slapping the rock ground. Pitch reluctantly followed, though at a much slower pace.

The hallway opened up into a large cavern, missing a wall so the rising sun shone in through the whole room. On one wall, a fireplace was carved into the rock and a fire blazed inside, seemingly the only cheerful thing in the cavern. In front of the fireplace was a gray throw rug and a black leather arm chair. Books lined the mantelpiece and the numerous shelves along the walls beside it. And facing the fire stood a figure with her hands clasped behind her, the flames casting shadows against her face.

Heart ran towards the figure. "Auntie!" she cried again. The character turned at the sound of the voice. As her face became clearer, Jack was surprised to see it was Nightshade. But it wasn't. She was… different. Jack couldn't place it, but she seemed happier. More relaxed. Her eyes had lost their usual hardness and anger. As she looked down at her niece, they glittered with kindness at Heart's happiness. She was dressed differently, too. Instead of her intense black and purple gown, she was in black leggings and a purple tunic with a black waist belt, and her hair was curly and pulled into a high ponytail with purple ballet flats on her feet.

"Sweetheart!" Shade said with a smile, kneeling to give Heart a warm hug. "How's my favorite niece?" Heart giggled. "I'm your _only _niece!" "But you're still my favorite." Shade joked, brushing Heart's bangs out of her eyes. Behind them, Pitch coughed. Shade looked up at her brother and smiled. "And how are _you, _might I ask?" she said, straightening but keeping a protective hand on Heart. "Why are you here, Shade?" Pitch asked, ignoring the question. Shade pouted. "What, a spirit can't say hello to her only family once in awhile?" She smiled. "Just wanted to say hi."

Pitch sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Look, I just got back from a very long night, so, I'm just going to go to bed. We will have to catch up later." Heart and Shade looked at each other and Shade rolled her eyes. Heart giggled but suddenly stopped when Pitch looked at her. "Stay out of trouble." He mumbled before turning around and trudging back down the hallway. Heart didn't relax until he rounded the corner and out of sight. Shade looked at her skeptically.

"Has he been treating you all right?" she asked. Heart looked up, seeming startled by the question. "Oh, he treats me fine. He just... neglects me. He doesn't tell me what to do or what not to do, usually I can just tell by the way he looks at me. He doesn't like me reading his books, for one thing." she said, looking at the shelves piled with hard backs. "You have a pretty high vocabulary for not reading much." Shade said with a smile. Heart bit her lip and looked at the hallway Pitch had gone into before leaning towards Shade's ear and whispering, "I read them anyway. When he's not home." Shade laughed as Heart blushed.

"How long are you staying?" Heart asked, changing the subject. "Until the next sunrise." Shade answered, looking out at the early morning sun. "So we have all that time to do things dear old Pitch won't let us do. He's either going to be asleep or working the whole time." she said with a wink. "What about your job?" Heart asked. "Oh, everything's taken care of for now, I won't be needed for a while." Shade said carelessly.

"Now, what do you want to do first?" she asked, kneeling so her face was level with Heart's. "We could go outside." "What would we do outside?" Heart asked, tilting her head. Shade looked at the wings on Heart's back and smiled. "I have an idea..."

_**Cliffy! I will continue this part in the next chapter and publish it as soon as I can!**_


	12. Chapter 11

"What if I fall?" Heart called out from the thick branch of a enormous pine she was standing on. "You won't fall!" Shade answered from a similar branch on the next tree. "Even if you do, I'll catch you!" "How? You don't even _have _wings, how do _I_ know _you _know what you're talking about?" Heart argued nervously. Shade sighed, rolled her eyes, and smiled. With a flick of the wrist, purple sand formed huge raven wings on her back. "There, now I _can _fly, and I teach hundreds of giant birds how to use their wings every day. I _think _I know what I'm talking about!"

"Now come on." she said a little more gently. "Just run, jump, and open your wings. It's easier than it sounds." Heart looked at the ground, a good seventy feet below, then at her smiling aunt. She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. Then she was running off the branch and leaping into the air. As soon as her feet left the limb, her wings snapped open and she gently glided to Shade's branch. "The was great!" Shade said, ruffling Heart's hair. "I didn't even think you would fall for a second!" Heart smiled at the complement, looking proud of herself.

The scene changed again. The sun was higher in the sky; it looked about noon. Something whizzed through the trees. Heart and Shade jumped/glided from tree to tree, running on ginormous redwood branches when they weren't. Heart was grinning from ear to ear, giving whoops of joy as she cut through the air. Shade looked at her niece and laughed as they race across the forest. Suddenly the trees stopped, giving off into a cliffside with a deep gorge cutting through to the bottom, about half a mile deep, at the least. "Auntie?!" Heart cried nervously when she caught sight of the canyon. Shade laughed again. "Well, come on!" she said, flying ahead of Heart.

"Wahoooooo!" Shade screamed as she leaped off the last tree and dived into the gorge. Heart bit her bottom lip but followed suit. Shade's laugh mingled with Heart's scream as they fell. Shade turned around in the air, facing Heart and falling backwards. "Just open your wings and flap!" she called before turning around and doing just that, her wings catching the air and rocketing her upwards. Heart watched for a moment before closing her eyes and doing the same. Her wings opened and she moved them, up and down, once, twice, three times. Heart opened her eyes again to find herself above the cliff and flying into the clouds. Beside Heart, Shade laughed as she spun and flipped through the air. Heart, seaming to relax a bit, experimented with her new ability.

The scene switch yet again. By the looks of the sun, it was about mid-afternoon. Against the clouds, Heart and Shade flew, spinning and flipping and dipping in and out of clouds, their outbursts of joy echoing across the valley. And once again, the view altered. The sun was setting in the sky this time, on the other side of the valley, still shining in the front room of Pitch's cave. In front of the still blazing fire Shade sat behind Heart on the rug, running her fingers through the feathers on Heart's wings, her own having disappeared.

"Goodness, child, how many loose feathers do you have?!" Shade exclaimed with a smile, pulling out another handful of fluff and disintegrating it into purple dust. Heart turned her head around to answer, but got sidetracked by something on the floor. Behind her, her shadow flicked with a ever-moving light of the fire. But where Shade's shadow should be, there was only gray rug. "Auntie, why don't you have a shadow?" Heart asked Shade. Shade looked up from Heart's wings and turned around to see what she meant. She gave a soft laugh when she turned back around.

"Pitch never bothered to mention my line of work to you, did he." she said, returning to Heart's wings. "Sweety, do know what a shadow really is?" Heart looked at her and shook her head. "A shadow is the worst part of someone, all compressed into one space. And since it is a part of the person, it looks like the person. But, since they share the same soul, they are connected, usually at the feet. The darker someone's shadow is, the more bad things there are about them. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Heart was quiet for a moment before speaking. "Then if you don't have a shadow, does that mean you're perfect?" Shade looked startled at the question before laughing in amusement. "Well, I never thought about it that way." she admitted. "No, sweetheart, I don't have a shadow because... well, because I _am _the worst part of myself. I am my own shadow. I've made some decisions in my life that I could have... that I could have thought over a little better." They were both quiet.

"There, all done." Shade said cheerfully, stroking Heart's wings lovingly. "So, Pitch is leaving soon, so we have the rest of the night to do whatever we want. Got any ideas?" Heart shook her head after a second of thought. "Do you?" she asked. Shade bit her lip and thought for a minute. "Tell me, have you ever heard of something called archery?"


	13. Chapter 12

Heart opened her eyes to see the sheet covering her door fall back into place. She was back in her room, in her bed, the candle still flickering comfortingly. "Poor dear fell asleep at around three in the morning." Shade's voice floated from the hallway. "Sat down to take a break and was dead to the world in five minutes." "You did do an awful lot with her today." Pitch said from the same direction. "Hey, just because you don't d anything with her doesn't mean I can't." Shade answered. "Sister's have to stay together. Keeps us strong."

"Sisters?" Pitch said, confused. There was a pause. "Well, yes, her being another daughter of Tenebris and all, that makes us sisters." Shade said. "Child of Tenebris... What are you talking about? Tenebris is her grandmother." Silence. "What?" Shade spat darkly. "Well, of course she's her grandmother, why do you think she calls you Auntie?" Pitch said matter-of-factly. "I don't know, I'm way older than she is, maybe she thought I was her aunt instead of her sister!" Shade said, frustrated. "Of course she thinks you're her aunt, she _knows _you're her aunt!" Pitch said in an exasperated tone.

Another pause. "_She's your daughter?!" _Shade roared. "Of course she's my daughter, you just figured that out?!" Pitch answered just as loud. "What, you never bothered to even _mention _this to me?!" Shade cried. "I thought you knew!" Pitch answered. Yet another pause. "Who's her mother?" Shade said dangerously. Heart could practically hear Pitch stiffen at the question. "I would rather not s-"

"Pitch Black, you have kept enough from me already, I _will _have answers, you tell me who her mother is!" Shade's voice shook the entire cavern. There was a long silence. "Amare." Pitch's voice was quiet, but it rang through the silence, loud and clear. Shade gasped through clenched teeth. "Amare..." she seemed to angry to speak. Heart heard her feet as she began to pace. "Out of all the spirits you picked... _her._" Shade found her voice. "Why her? You two are the exact opposites. Literally! You are the spirit of fear, she is the spirit of affection, for the whole _universe_, mind you! And you, the child of Darkness, are _raising her daughter!_ Tell me again why I didn't know this sooner?"

"I didn't even know the girl was alive, she just appeared in the living room while I was gone one night. I couldn't exactly leave her, so I took her in." Pitch said stiffly. Shade let out a shaky breath. "I don't know how I missed it. I mean, besides her eyes, she looks nothing like you. Not nearly as neglectful or sour. Or _secretive._" Shade took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Does she know?" she asked, less loudly. "Of course she knows." Pitch spat. There was a shuffle as Shade faced him.

"Then you treat her with all the respect possible with that black heart of yours. Because it's not her fault she got such a sorry excuse for a father. So you two get to know each other, and enjoy the family you have, because you won't be seeing me for a _very _long time!" And with that, she spun on her heels and walked out of the cavern.

**Sorry this chapter was short, I've been a little busy lately. But I will find time! Nothing better than a good excuse for procrastination.**


End file.
